Tell Dally: A Character Analysis

Ponyboy talks about him as having ", an elfish face with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx. His hair was so blond, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in the back in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world. “He works as a jockey, and funnily doesn't rig his races; it's "the only thing Dally did honestly." Even though he is only seventeen years old, "the fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring." He set the stereotype for the greasers its scary to the others how scary he is. In the events when Johnny killed Bob dally helped out the boys and gifted them one handgun and $100. Ponyboy realizes the truth after Johnny's death. When he tries to make sense of Dally's reaction to Johnny's death, it dawns on him, "Johnny was the only thing that Dally

“Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave (2).” This explains why Ponyboy, Dally and Sodapop did not have parents. In the novel, this really effected their life and character. "…It was Darry. He hit me. I don't know what happened, but I couldn't take him hollering at me and hitting me too... He didn't use to be like that... we used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died. Now he just can't stand me (2)." This shows that not having their parents anymore effected Darry’s character and how he treated Ponyboy, which in return effected how Ponyboy felt about himself in comparison to how he was treated. This illustrates that Ponyboy believes that Darry picks on him all the time. This shows that Darry was like a caring parent in a tough way,

Although Johnny and Dally have a fair amount of similarities, they also have many differences. They both have neglectful parents and do not value their lives. However, they have distinctive differences in their philosophies about Ponyboy and their personalities. Despite their differences, they really care about eachother. They are foils but develop a bond with their similarities.

For example, Johnny is physically the smallest of the group and Dally is always the one there to look out for him and help him with everything that is going on. Dally never has these parent/guardian like feelings for anyone else in the group, he clearly likes and cares for Johnny the most. Even Ponyboy realizes it when he says, “Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it and Dally can’t? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone”(152). Pony makes it crystal clear that Dallas cares for each other unconditionally. Similarly, Johnny has great affection and care for Dally. He realizes he can always look up to Dallas for anything and Dallas always has his back whenever Johnny is in need of some help or advice. When Ponyboy says, “Johnny worshiped the ground Dallas walked on, and I have never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero ”(25). Like Dallas, Johnny looks up to Dally as his hero and care so greatly about him. Very much alike with each other, Dally and Johnny Both care for each other unconditionally. Therefore, Dally and Johnny are genuinely similar in many

Ponyboy¹s older brother, tells him that he should succeed in school and make something of himself, and

On page 51, after Darry slapped him because he came home late, he ran away to find Johnny. Later he mentions how he “ran for several blocks until (they) were out of breath. Then (they) walked. (he) was crying by then”. However, Ponyboy wasn’t crying because he hurt physically, he was crying because he hurt mentally that Darry would slap him. If anyone he didn’t care about slapped him, he wouldn’t feel hurt the way he did that night. Also, on page 98, there is confirmation that he cares about Darry. When he was in the hospital after the church fire, he see's Darry in the doorway. After a moment’s hesitation, he shouted “Darry”, then said, “and the next thing I knew I had him around the waist and was squeezing the daylights out of him.” He may have had mixed emotions about Darry, but it is evident that Pony truly cares about him. Dally is another example of someone he had mixed emotions about, but when he died, Ponyboy said, “My stomach gave a violent start and turned into a hunk of ice.” He thought he didn’t care about Dally, but when he died, Ponyboy realized how much he admired

Throughout the novel, Ponyboy’s brother Darry tells him that he needs to use his head more and think for himself. Pony’s friends and family are more of an influence in Pony’s life than Pony himself. Being known as “‘...Soda’s kid brother…’” (42) in the gang, Pony is not forced to make his own decisions very often so he has no practice in doing so. When the

Dally was hard, but this incident would eventually change him for the better. The only thing Dally loved, Johnny, gave Ponyboy words of advice for Dally, “Listen,

In a time where the general population is overweight and obsessed with technology, there isn’t much time for the outside world. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson is about two corpulent men on a journey to walk the Appalachian Trail. At first their tale seems unlikely because of their weight and the fact that they have never hiked a day in their lives. However, it quickly turns into an inspiring story that we, as people, should use to spark our own adventure in the great unknown. Bryson writes A Walk in the Woods to encourage people to live a little and experience the great outdoors, to meet interesting people in it, and to encounter the enthralling wildlife that resides on the Appalachian Trail.

His parents died when he was young. He was nurtured by his older brothers. Pony has to struggle at the bottom of the social ladder. Like the people around him, he has to fight, steal and scare little kids. However, Pony remained a pure heart, a golden heart. He only fights when he has to defend himself. He kept his heart of sympathy, understanding of others and think for the others. Like in when the church was burned, he understands the situation of the teacher and children. So he risked his life to safe the kids. The most straight forward example and conclusion of Pony’s good heart is the word of Johnny, “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold…” Moreover, Ponyboy is a thinker. He can think for the opposite side of his gang, the Socs. Although the Socs almost drowned him, he can still understand the Socs and didn’t be blinded by the hate. He in the chaos and impulsive world can see through the surface of the conflict and see the core of the world that people are the same. That is really amazing and Ponyboy does have the board mind of a hero.

Sometimes the people who seem to be opposites are not so different at all. Throughout

“Sometimes we don’t get along with friends, but when we need a shoulder to lean on we know they will always be there.” In The Outsiders by S.E Hinton Ponyboy goes through some awful times during his fourteenth year, but he knew he always had his friends by his side. “ I’d never liked Dally, but then for the first time I felt like he was my buddy. And all because he was glad he hadn’t killed me.” Ponyboy was pleased he had Dally as his friend because without Dally saving him from the fire he could’ve died. In this quote Ponyboy and Dally didn’t get along with each other at first, but when Dally helped him he felt like Dally was his buddy. Ponyboy knows that Dally will always be by his side no matter what. At the end, we may not always agree with our friends but we know that they will cheer you up and care for you no matter

Ponyboy will have his brothers and his friends to rely because if Ponyboy were to get jumped all he would have to do would scream and all of his gang will be there in a second. Ponyboy would also have them to rely on because if he needed to talk or just hang out than no one would ask he why or say not right now. If Ponyboy were to get into trouble than his

In The Outsiders it is given that through faith and devotion to one another Ponyboy and the gang use their close friendship in troublesome situations for instance when Johnny tells Ponyboy “i had to” he does this as an act of loyalty to Ponyboy to show him that he can trust him no matter what situation they are in.Most of the story is told from first person or Ponies perspective which shows us without exception every aspect of the story. When Johnny dies at the end of the book Ponyboy only then realizes the importance of him, and the gangs need for someone like Johnny to give them a sense of purpose after mentioning “we couldn't get along without him . We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang.” Throughout all of Ponyboys hardships Johnny was always there to support him even when Ponyboy wanted to run away after darry slapped him, he never asked any questions.To keep a strong friendship you need to stay loyal to one another just as much as Ponyboy and his brothers stay loyal to each other after stating in chapter twelve “If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything.” Through passionate tone used by Sodapop throughout this quote we are shown that after everything they have been through that they trust each other and that staying together is all

After the church fire Ponyboy comes to the realization of many things. Two-Bit and Ponyboy are eating at a restaurant known as Tasty Freeze when Randy asks to speak with him. Ponyboy tells Randy, ¨Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual¨(115). He finds out that you cannot define someone based on of they are part of the Socs or the greasers. Furthermore, he finds out that every one is a individual and that means that just because he is a part of a certain group it does not mean that they are all going to react or perceive a situation in the same exact way. In addition, he say this to Randy because when there was a fire in the church Dally was not willing to risk his life to save someone else's when Johnny and Ponyboy were more than willing to help the kids. This shows event shows how all Greasers and Socs are not the same. In the beginning of the novel Ponyboy believed Darry disliked him and thought he was a nuisance. However, later on at the hospital Ponyboy tells Darry, “I’m sorry” (98). Ponyboy’s words expose how he feels bad for thinking Darry disliked him all along when in truth he loved him more than words could describe. He realizes that Darry fears losing another family member that is why he is so overprotective of Ponyboy. Hence, proving Ponyboy is clearly a dynamic character.